


The Moments in Between

by Nattymarie14



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Fluff, Gen, Kid!Fic, daddy becomes a daddy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-09-11 05:21:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8955502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nattymarie14/pseuds/Nattymarie14
Summary: Clara was standing with her arms crossed tightly around her chest and a look of distrust and uncertainty clear on her young face.Jason.She'd never known his name until now, her mom had never told her. She'd only brush the topic off until it didn't come up anymore.Clearly it couldn't be brushed aside forever.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired loosely by a fic with a similar topic called "All I want Is Nothing More" by Seasonelemnts ,that one's about Seguin being a dad! Check it out, I def recommend.

She never had a dad.

At least that's what Clara used to think. For as long as she could remember it had been just her and her mom. As she got older it became clear to her how much that couldn't be true.

She was about to be 11, obviously she was old enough to learn these kinds of things at school, and it always seemed to her like something was missing, but every time she brought it up her mom would wave it away.

"Momma" She'd always ask the question in the same tone to which her mother's shoulder would drop in anticipation every time. "Who's my dad?"

And just like every other time, she would sigh. "Clara.."

"I know! I know, it doesn't matter, because it's not important, blah blah blah, but mom, i just wanna know. Just tell me one thing about him. That's all, just one little thing."

This time her mom met her at her level, which wasn't very far considering she wasn't very tall, and she brushed her daughter's hair behind her ears. She'd smile down at her as she looked into expectant blue eyes. Eyes that mirrored his

"Your dad's a really funny guy. He always knew exactly how to make someone feel better if they were down. He's a really nice guy who truly cares about people a lot. "she kissed the top of Clara's head and turned her small body in the direction of her room. "Now c'mon, You're going to be late."

Clara groaned, though she was satisfied with having finally been given something.

It wasn't much, but it was something.

In her spare time Clara liked to think about what he was probably like and how he looked. She imagined he was tall. Her mom was short and would always tell her that she was going to be pretty tall. She also figured he had to have dark hair, she couldn't imagine hi, with anything else. Her thoughts on what he did for work varied from year to year, mostly leaning towards whatever she happened to be the coolest at the time.

In her mind he'd been an astronaut, a fireman and a lawyer. This time around she was leaning towards a surgeon because her mom liked to watch shows with lots of doctors. 

At school things weren't much different than usual though it was her last year of elementary school before going on to the bigger world of middle school. Being one of the older kids in school was a really cool feeling. She liked getting to walk around knowing that some of the younger ones were looking up to her.

"So my mom finally told me something about my dad today." Clara said softly during lunch one day.

Her friends all froze and looked up at her, a small gasp coming from a couple of their mouths. They knew all about her mom's reluctance to share any information about the father she'd never met, so of course this caught their attention.

"What'd she tell you? Anything big?" Her best friend Madi asked.

Clara shrugged, stuffing a straw into her juice pack and tucking her hair behind her ears. "She said he's funny."

"Is that it?" She nodded and they groaned dramatically in response. "Why wont she just tell you!"

"It's not that big of a deal. He's not around so it doesn't matter. I like everything just the way it is right now. Just me and my mom. I don't need anyone else in our little family."

"Yea, you're right," her friend Gabby said. "You're mom is awesome. Who needs your dad when you've got her."

Still though, Clara couldn't help but wonder when, if ever, she'd meet him, but she didn't dwell on for too long. Recess was calling.


	2. Chapter 2

Clara was pretty excited to come home from school that day. They'd been awarding students at her school who'd excelled at reading in the past year with tickets to the next Canadiens game.

Now, she'd never been the biggest fan of hockey, her mom made a show to not watch it with Clara around so she figured it was probably because of violence or something, which to be fair, Clara didn't care too much for anyway.

In any case, she was thrilled to be gifted with a pair of tickets for the upcoming game. Living in Dorval on the southern end of Quebec everyone loved the Habs so this chance to go and see them play for free was bound to be pretty cool.

She dropped her bag off by the door as she and Madi walked in after school, their certificates and ticket filled envelopes in hand and they excitedly rounded the corner.

They circled her mom, who was sitting on the couch on her day off and reading a book with the tv on for background noise, and plopped down on either side of her.

She put her book down with a smile and took both of them in for a hug. "How are my little cuties doing? Let's see what you have there."

Her smile faltered when she looked inside the envelope. Two tickets for a Canadiens game against the Dallas Stars. She might've been avoiding watching games but she kept a close eye on certain players and where they were playing. For Clara's sake she pulled the certificate out over top, and kissed the top of her head.

"Wow! You two got free tickets to a game how about that!"

"Mom, can we go? Please, please, please?"

Her mother chuckled and pulled the two of them close. "I have the day off that night, so I don't see why not. Madi, let your parents know I'd be happy to take you if they're busy."

"Okay!" 

After that, she sent them off, the two of them heading to Clara's room to do their homework together. 

It was early December when they went to the game. A fresh powder of snow had fallen that night and since Madi had stayed the night they spent most of the day leading up to the game playing outside.

"Are you excited to go to your first hockey game?" Madi asked as they were getting ready to leave.

Clara shrugged. She was a little nervous, she wasn't sure what to expect but aside from that she was excited. She'd never been able to go before because her mom just couldn't afford it.  


"Yea. I think it's gonna be pretty cool, I don't really go downtown that often."

"Yea, well the Bell Centre is really cool."

"You're dad loves hockey right?"

Madi nodded. "Yup, his favorite player is on Dallas though, he said he used to live in Dorval too."

Clara's ears perked up at that. She'd never heard about anyone making it big out of Dorval. "Really?"

"Yup!"

"I hope we see him at the game."

"Yea, that'd be cool, I don't remember his name though so we'll have to take a guess."

Clara giggled. "Just assume that anyone with a French name is from here."

Madi linked her arm up with her best friend's, a warm smile on her rosy cheeks. "Sounds perfect."

Clara's eyes lit up with wonder when they stepped into view on the ice upon entering the arena. Clara's mom let them wonder down to the ice while she headed for the seats, a little uncomfortable though Madi pulled her towards the glass before she could really pick up on it.

At first they watched from the Montreal end. Madi pressing her fingers against the glass as she pointed out different players. "That's Brandon Prust, my dad loves him. He gets in fights allll the time."

"That doesn't sound good."

Madi shook her head. "Fighting isn't a bad thing in hockey, they usually do it for good things. Ohh, and that's Alex Galchenyuk, my sister's in love with him."

"Well, he's really cute so."

Madi pressed her finger against the glass on a different spot. "That's the goalie. He's my favorite. His name's Carey."

With than Madi took Clara's hand and lead her towards the greener side of the rink where the Stars had hit the ice.

They watched as the numbers flashed in front of them as the guys skated by.

91 took a shot, then 14, then 21 and 5.

A man in jersey number 4 hit a puck against the glass beside them, Clara read the name Demers on his back as he skated around in front of them, though she couldn't make out what he looked like beneath the visor on his helmet. He paused to bend over, his stick against his knees as he shuffled his feet underneath him. 

He stayed there for a minute, Clara and Madi thoroughly intrigued by how close he was standing to them on the other side of the wall, and then he hit his puck against their glass again and skated off, another man in green with a C on his chest and the name Benn on his back mirroring him and they watched him slip off to were most of the the other guys were.

Madi leaned up to the glass and squealed. "That was awesome! They were so close to us."

Clara smiled. "Yea, that was really cool."

"I wonder what Dallas is like. I bet they were really cold when they came up here."

Clara shrugged. "Dallas is in Texas, its pretty hot there I think. Does it snow there?"

This time Madi shrugged. "Probably not."

"I could never live there." Clara decided. "I wouldn't wanna go anywhere where there isn't snow."

"Me neither."

"You wanna go up and sit with my mom now?"

"Yea, lets go!"

At their seats her mom met them with blankets and a large box of popcorn that the girls dug into as soon as they were bundled up.

The seats they won gave them a pretty decent view. It was high enough that they could see the entirety of the rink without problem but low enough the Madi could make out names and faces. 

The game went by almost as quickly as it came, and Clara enjoyed every second of it from the first puck drop to the picture she and Madi took with Youppi, to the final buzzer even though it ended in favor of the Stars. 

They stayed a little longer as the stadium cleared out, Clara's mom had no intentions of trying to battle the crowd of fans all trying to leave at the same time when there was snow on the ground.

In any case they started to head out almost a whole half hour after the game, occupying their time by looking around the Habs store and taking pictures with the vacated rink. 

They'd started walking through the halls leading towards the way out when someone called her mother's name.

"Emilienne?"

Clara looked up at her as she stopped in her track and told the girls to wait where they were then walked towards the voice. 

"Who's that?" Madi asked.

Clara shrugged. "No idea, I've never seen him before."

She talked with him briefly, the girls watching on from where they stood as they exchanged a few words, her mom smiled, so Clara knew it was nothing serious. The two hugged and Emilienne sent a wave back at him as she met back with the girls and they continued on to the car.

"Mom, who were you talking to?" Clara asked once she was buckled in and they were on their way home.

Her mother smiled fondly into the rear mirror at her daughter who was looking through the pictures she and her best friend had taken together throughout the course of the night, waiting for a response to her question.

"Just an old friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not always gonna post so soon like this, but I'll do my best to update as regularly as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my friend Chels (Chelseadagger1988) for helping me out with this chapter. Be sure to check her out!

When the holidays came Clara and her mom spent their time out of town with her best friends in Ottawa. Clara didn't mind being away from her friends, her mom's friends had kids who were younger than she was but she loved to play with them all the same. It wasn't the worst thing that could possibly happen.

She was helpful as the oldest kid, helping to set the table and making sure all the young ones were safe and entertained. She passed around the presents when the time came and helped her mom make her special Christmas cookies for everyone. 

When presents were done, she rounded up all the munchkins as they went off to watch The Polar Express together. It was a tradition she had with her mom that she was more than willing to share with everyone. 

She let one of the smallest girls sit in her lap while softly singing a long to the music.

She enjoyed the holiday, with what her mother considered her extended family, they were the closest thing Clara had to aunts and uncles and cousins.

Her mom, Emilienne, didn't stay with her family for very long after learning she was pregnant with Clara. They didn't want her there and as a result her best friend Gianna's family took her in as their own and helped her out when Clara was first born.

Emilienne was young when she got pregnant. She was a few months shy of her 17th birthday and her family was not thrilled with her.

Gianna's family stepped up without a second thought and for that their friendship couldn't be stronger. Even though they lived in two different provinces, they knew their friendship would always last.

Every year Emilienne would promise something for Clara's birthday that she'd always follow through with. Clara always looked forward to it. Her mom would excuse her from school for the day so she could sleep in and feed her breakfast in bed then take her to the zoo or just spend the day together. 

This year Clara wanted to go to six flags. Her birthday was in the mid spring just before May on April 12th so it was still pretty chilly in Montreal.

Her mom would hold her closely and make her promise. "Sweetheart, I know how much you want to go to Six Flags so I'm gonna make sure it happens." And then press her lips to her daughter's temple.

Never had she once left Clara disappointed.

When the Holidays were all over with they went back to living their lives in Dorval like normal. 

The two of them would rise with the sun and share a warm cup of tea to start their day and when school was out Emilienne would be waiting for Clara to get home, arms wide open and ready to her all about her only child's day. 

It was coming up on the end of March when Clara got a call at school that made her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. 

As she was picked up from school she tried to remember a time when her mother was ever unwell. A time where maybe she was sick or she'd hurt something. But she couldn't. 

Her mom was strong and so, she decided, should she.

They didn't let her see her mom right away, nor would they tell her exactly what had happened to her. It wasn't exactly the best idea to tell an eleven year old graphic things about her mother, even if she insisted.

So they waited, impatiently on Clara's part, for Madi and her mom to arrive. She watched carefully as she nodded slowly, keeping herself as composed as she could manage before turning to the girls with a grave look on her face that Clara didn't like the sight of.

She reminded herself to stay strong.

"Is my mom gonna be ok?"

"Clara." She brushed her hair back and took her hands in hers. She let a small sigh escape her as she pressed her eyes together, trying to think of some way to explain what had happened without alarming her. "Your mom was in an accident. They have her in surgery right now and they said they're gonna do the best they can for her ok, sweetie? But I don't want you to worry-"

"Is she gonna be ok."

"Clara-"

"Is my mom gonna be ok? She's my mom, she has to be okay right?"

Madi's mom took her into her arms and held her tightly, smoothing down her hair as she whooshed her. "Right now you just need to be strong for her okay?"

Clara nodded and Madi took her hand.

They waited hours in the old cushioned chairs in the waiting room for a new update on Emilienne. At first they'd come by and tell them everything was going smoothly and then for a while there was nothing.

Clara grew more panicky by the minute and Marie did the best she could to keep her at ease. 

It was around midnight when she was finally allowed to go see her. 

Before letting her in a nurse got down to her level and took her hand, meeting her glance with a serious look in her eyes. 

"I don't wan you to be alarmed," she said, "your mom is hooked up to a lot of different machines, but I don't want you to be afraid. She's awake and asking for you. She's very eager to see you.

Clara nodded silently in response and with that she took a deep breath and walked in. 

Emilienne was laying in her hospital bed in a half seated position. There were visible burns and scratches on her face and arms and her leg was in a large brace. She smiled widely as Clara sauntered in slowly, as if any disturbance in the air might cause her mother some sort of pain. She reached an arm out towards her daughter letting her know that there was nothing to be afraid of.

She hugged Clara tightly despite her fear of putting her in any pain given that there were so many IVs and other wires hooked up to her body and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before pulling back and taking the small girl's face in her hands. 

"Clara, baby, are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm ok, are you hurt mommy?"

Emilienne nodded this time. "I'm fine sweetie, I love you. I'm going to be okay, I promise."

Clara watched her mother carefully and her face dropped when her mother's hands left her face and her eyes got unfocused. 

She was looking at her, but not _at_ her.

"Mommy?" 

Her question went unanswered.

She took a step back, pulling her hands away like she'd touched something that caused this to happen as nurses rushed to her mom's side.

Marie took her hand to guide her and Madi out of the room, her heart rate picking up as her mother heart slowed on the monitor then stopped in time for Clara to hear the buzz of the flatline before the door could be shut behind her. 

She started to tear up, her own heart felt like it was being ripped from her chest and she flashed through memories of sparklers on Canada Day or sharing ice cream in the dead of winter. The first time she rode her bike without training wheels and the first time they watched the waves on the beach. 

And then all at once it hit her, like a wave of a tsunami crashing in and leaving her gasping for air, the sound of the monitor buzzing and the frantic steps of people rushing in to try to save her mother's life. 

An overwhelming part of her knew, no matter how desperately she wanted to try to keep hold on that last remaining strand of hope, that her mommy was never going to be with her again.

And she felt frozen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, shout out to chelseadagger1988 and haileyarobin for all their help when I get stuck ❤

Her mother's family came to the funeral. There she met people she'd never seen before, an aunt and uncle as well her grandparents. They awkwardly gave her head a pat, pity to the child they'd never had any interest in knowing.

There were kids from her classes there though she didn't pay any mind to their presence. 

Clara couldn't recall most of the event, it went by in a blur of people all dressed in black and sad white flowers. The only thing she was sure of was that Madi was by her side, holding her hand tightly throughout it all. 

If she made the slightest move Madi moved with her. Any classmate that wanted to see Clara had to go through her best friend first. 

Clara probably wouldn't've made it through the service without her. She stayed at her side as she took to the podium to say her eulogy then quickly ushered her off when all she could do was utter a soft and broken "Mommy" as the tears finally began to flow from her eyes.

By the end of it she was left feeling numb to everything going on around her. All Madi could do was hold her tightly as the two of them drifted off to sleep.

They were with her when she learned of where she'd be going. In her mother's will she'd left Clara to the care of her biological father since her own family didn't want anything to do with either of them. Clara was opposed to this, wanting to stay with Madi's family, but there wasn't really much they could do.

It broke her heart to learn that he was living in the States, much less in the south United States. That meant that there wasn't as good a chance that she'd see her best friend again.

The thought only broke her more.

Madi and her mother flew down with Clara, again Madi never left her side, her mother'd made sure she had a passport so that Clara could have her best friend by her side down to their last moment of seeing each other before they'd be out of reach.

Clara slipped her fingers through Madi's as they got ready to get off the plane. She could feel the temperature from the the little gaps in the tunnel and pulled off her coat. It was much warmer than the 20 degree temperatures she had in Canada when she left. 

She was well aware that this was a moment she'd always dreamt of, meeting her dad, but the conditions in which it was happening made it more upsetting than exciting as she followed Madi's mom's lead down to baggage.

That didn't stop the pounding in her chest.

She spotted him almost instantly, his arms were crossed over his chest and his hat was pulled down over his eyes. He looked about as nervous as she felt. He was taller than Clara initially imagined, though his hair was dark like she thought it'd be, the brown tufts of peaking out the sides of his baseball cap. 

He looked familiar.

Madi's mom was a little taken aback as she reached out to take his hand in hers. 

"Well if it isn't Jason Demers."

Madi looked to Clara then up at the man in front of them.

He gave her mom a smile. "It is. Nice to meet you."

"You too. I'm Marie St. Martin." He shook her hand then dropped down to the level of the small girls. 

"And what's your name?"

"Madi." She said softly. To that Jason rewarded her with a fist bump.

Madi pulled Clara forward as he looked around her, his eyes soft as they met hers. "So then you must be Clara?"

Clara was standing with her arms crossed tightly around her chest and a look of distrust and uncertainty clear on her young face. 

Jason.

She'd never known his name until now, her mom had never told her. She'd only brush the topic off until it didn't come up anymore.

His eyes softened as Clara nodded slowly and took a step forward when Madi pulled on her hand again. He was a little more muscular than she imagined and his face, in her opinion, shared no resemblance with hers though she could sense the warmth in his deep blue eyes.

He gently rested a hand on top of her head. "I'm very sorry that we had to meet his way." She nodded again, her eyes lowering at the mention of her late mom, and a fire of hatred being lit in the pit of her gut.

The two girls trailed close behind the adults as they headed off to take care of some of the legal things that needed to be taken care of. She was looking him up and down as he filled out various paperwork and other things to legalize her living in the United States. 

Every so often she'd see her father shake his head and sigh or scratch at the top of his head as he filled things out with Marie's help and all she could think about was how much she would miss Madi and her brothers. She'd only stayed with them for a little while leading up to when she left Montreal and they were much older than she was, but they took care of her, made her forget, even if for a split second, that her entire world was spinning on its head.

She felt a small poke in her side and it pulled her from her thoughts.

"Hey."

She gave her best friend the best smile she could manage. "Hey."

"So here's the deal, even though we're gonna be a bajillion miles away from each other in a couple days, I'm still gonna love you and we'll talk everyday and tell each other everything."

Clara smiled a bit bigger. "We can pretend like we're still only a few minutes away from each other.

"Yup." Madi nodded firmly. 

Clara looked back over towards their two parents, Jason shifted his weight as he listened attentively to what Marie was saying, nodding his head as he scribbled things down where she pointed. 

In that moment all she could feel was anger for him. He'd never been there for her. She'd made it 12 years without ever hearing a word from him or knowing what he looked like or sounded like, or anything about him at all regardless of her mother's treatment of the situation. Years of knowing how much it hurt her mother to have to raise her as a single mother. Of growing up without ever knowing her grandparents, her aunts and uncles or her cousins, because they shut her mom out.

They didn't want to associate themselves with the child that ruined her Emilienne's life, and in a similar way, she didn't want anything to do with him or the city she'd be forced to live in far from the place she's been able to call her home her whole life to this point.

She wished he would've just let Madi's family take her in.

The city of Dallas was lit up like a Christmas tree in early April, everywhere she looked there were twinkling lights and busy streets full of busy people. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. She sat in the back with Madi, looking up at the skyscrapers that towered around them and taking in the sounds of the city as they passed through.

When they got to Jason's place he helped everyone with their things, taking an extra trip to his car after showing everyone up to make sure Clara had everything she'd come down with.

His place wasn't the biggest. The apartment had two rooms and a living room that was made up for Jason to spend the couple nights on the couch. He showed them around, first to his room where Marie would be staying and then to Clara's room. 

"My girlfriend helped me pick out a lot of the bed stuff and decorations. I'm not really the best at this sorta thing." He said, slipping his hat off to scratch at the back of his head. "But, uh, I gotta go make a phone call real quick. You guys probably want to get to bed pretty soon but I ordered a pizza in case anyone's hungry."

Marie placed a reassuring hand on Jason's shoulder. "Thank you so much. This is all really nice. Right girls?"

Madi nodded and elbowed Clara in the side so she'd respond with a nod as well, as reluctant as she was to do so, and with that, he slipped off and Marie let the girls have the room to themselves.

"So what do you think?" Madi asked ans Clara wandered around. She let her fingertips glide across the surface of her new bed, looking around at the posters and other various hangings on her wall as she headed towards the window. 

Outside the light from the pool lit up her room, she almost felt more as if she was staying at some sort of fancy hotel than an actual home.

It occurred to her that he probably had a pretty big salary to have a place as nice as this. A place her mother had always wanted but was never able to afford. As she flipped off the light and crawled into bed, Madi mirroring her every move, her anger towards him only grew. She let it stew, keeping her thoughts to herself until a tear slipped onto her pillow and she allowed her eyes to flutter shut.

"I just want to go home."


	5. Chapter 5

Sometimes Clara would just stare at him as he went about doing things she assumed he always did. Laying on the couch he'd ruffle his hair every now and then, chewing on his lip. Mostly she'd just stare at him when he was on his feet. It was so captivating how tall he was, how he towered over her by almost a whole two feet and Clara just couldn't help but stare. 

It seemed these days like she did a lot of staring. At Jason mostly, she stared because sometimes it just didn't feel like she was actually seeing him. She never thought he'd ever be a part of her life. Other times she stared at other things. 

It's been a few days since Madi had gone back to Canada. While she was around Jason had showed everyone around Dallas, visiting common tourist attractions, the aquarium and it's turtle exhibit being Clara's favorite part of it all. And then she watched her best friend board a plane and travel back to Dorval without her. 

Still though she spent more time watching Jason than anything else, trying to find herself in him, though she found it to be pretty difficult. Maybe the one thing they had in common was the color of their hair, her mom had blonde hair and she and Jason were brunette.

She'd watch him move about, averting her gaze if his eyes fell on her then peaking back up when she knew he was looking away.

She still didn't like this. There was nothing about this that appealed to her. 

Much more, she wasn't looking forward to her first day of school, she wanted so much to be able to wake up every morning and meet up with her friends just before the bell would ring or head out together for lunch after the bells would signal the end of school.

She didn't want new friends.

Jason dropped her off on his way to morning skate, though Clara just assumed it was because he was usually up that early.

The day before he'd let her skip out on what was supposed to be her actual first day of school since she still seemed deeply upset with the situation, but he was still up, almost rising with the sun before letting her know he'd be back after he went for a run. 

The first thing that struck her as different was the dress code. She'd grown so accustomed to wearing and seeing everyone around her dressed the same way it was weird for her to see everyone dressed apart. 

She didn't even make it through her very first class before someone started picking on her over her accent. Her stomach sank and she spent the most of the day in silence when she could.

She just wanted to go home.

Jason had gotten the pressers done when all the media craziness began, but the news of his daughter was something that hadn't been touched on yet.

The questions weren't too deep, they didn't ask for details or anything along those lines, they mainly went up the ally of welcoming him back and asking "What's it like having a daughter or being a father now?" 

To which Jason replied with "it's definitely different. Lots more responsibility. It's not just me anymore, I've got someone half my size to keep an eye now."

Or they'd ask "Do you think this could be a distraction."

Jason would shake his head "No Clara's a great kid going through a tough time. I really feel for her and what she's going through. The best thing I can do for her is try to be the best parent I can for her." Or "I know how to separate myself from what's going on off the ice."

At practice though he'd let his mind wander from time to time. His attention would flip to how he can be a better parent for her when he has no idea what he's doing and before long he'd realize that with everything going on right now and playoffs set to begin in the next week, maybe he can't separate himself from off the ice.

Picking Clara up a little while later he noticed she was a little more upset than when she left. He could tell she was a fighter, she was the kind who wanted to hold everything in until she could let it all out with no one there to intervene. Jason was the same way. He saw himself in the way she sat in the passenger seat with her arms crossed tightly over her chest like she was holding herself together with tape and glue and her little nose pressed to the window.

It upset him.

He wanted to help her, but he wasn't sure what to do and she wouldn't let him anyway. It wasn't a secret, her dislike for him. It wasn't outright, she wasn't vocal about it, but it was something he could sense.

He spoke up as he set the car in park, before she could hop out and lock herself away, he wasn't sure how to phrase himself. "How did your day go, anything happen?"

She shook her head.

"Nothing bad?"

That time she stayed still though she let herself slip out before he could ask her anything else. Walking slowly to the door and then to her room. 

Jason released a hefty sigh.

Clara was a lot better after a couple days. She still refused to really talk to Jason but she'd made a few friends and they'd asked her to come out with them for a bit. That put Jason at ease.

It was about that weekend that Jason found her sitting on the couch and decided it was time to tell her what he did for work, whether she already knew or not.

His first game back with the Stars after taking a short personal break was quickly approaching and he needed to be sure she'd have some place to stay when he was out of town.

"There's something I need to talk to you about." He took a bite out of his food and waited for her to give him a sign that she was listening. When she didn't he tried again. "Seriously Clara, I need you to listen to me for a minute. You think you could do that please?"

She rolled her eyes and looked over at him. 

"For starters, do you know what I do?"

"What? Like your job? No."

"I play hockey, like professionally. I play for the Dallas Stars" She nodded slowly. "So the thing is that sometimes I won't be able to pick you up from school or I won't be home for a few days because I'll be working."

"So?"

Her tone was starting to get under his skin but he did his best to keep his anger in check. "So I was talking to a couple of my teammates and their girlfriends and mine said they'd be able to pick you up or take you in whenever I'm out of town."

She nodded again. 

"Okay, Clara really, I need you to work with me here this is important."

"I mean basically you're just telling my you're leaving me again."

"No. That's actually not what I'm doing."

"You just said you're not even gonna be here."

"Believe it or not, despite what you have against me I'm still your dad and I'm still in charge here so knock it off. I need to know that you understand what I'm saying."

"No, actually you're not. You might be my father, but you're not my dad and I get it. You're gonna leave me again and hand me over to other people. Over and over. I get it."

"Okay, it's time for you to go to bed. Right now."

Clara pushed away from the couch without a second thought and slammed her bedroom door behind her.

He refrained from slamming the door to his bedroom as a response and he turned in himself. It'd be best if there was only one child in the house.

Clara pressed her back against the wall and let herself slide down as the tears took over, flowing down her cheeks like salty little rivers as she pressed her ear to the door.

Through her sniffles and silent sobs she could hear his soft footsteps padding around then stop. He sighed.

"Hey." He uttered softly. For a split second she thought he was talking to himself, but he broke the silence again. "I don't know. I feel like nothing's gonna change here."

It was silent again.

"Are you free tomorrow?" Clara wiped her face. "Ok... ok, I'll see you tomorrow then... I love you too. Bye."

After school the next day Clara was watching the people outside her window, looking at the genuine smiles of the strangers who'd pass by, until she heard her name being called. Again she got the slight pinch of nerves in her gut at the thought of meeting someone new.

She didn't move right away, she sat for another moment letting the sun hit her face before reacting when her name was called again.

Jason stood with his hands on his hips as he waited for her and as she looked to the brunette that stood by his side, she could feel her nerves and uncertainty almost melt away that instant.

"Clara," Jason started, "this is my girlfriend, Julienne Gaudin."

With that Julienne stepped up, carefully reaching out one hand out to gently rest on Clara's shoulder, almost the way her mother would to reassure her, while she used the other the hold her light brown hair out of her face. "It's very nice to meet you Clara."

She held her gaze for a moment before nodding.

"So I know your dad showed you around Dallas a couple days ago, but I was hoping maybe I could show you my favorite place to go if you're up to it?" Again she took a moment before giving a small nodding and taking Julienne's hand. "I'll have her back before dinner Jason."

As they walked Julienne kept her hand in Clara's, leaving the option up to her to pull away, though she seemed more than fine with staying just as she was. "So Clara, I heard that you just had a birthday."

"Yea." She said softly. 

"Did you do anything exciting? How old did you turn?"

"I turned twelve. Madi's mom took us and her brothers to La Ronde for the day."

"Wow, that's very exciting. I bet you had a blast huh."

Clara nodded.

The sun was starting to go down past the trees and Julienne took a seat on the grass over looking a small lake, motioning for Clara to sit opposite of her. "What do you think?"

"It's pretty."

"I like to come out here on runs early in the morning. I'll usually stop about here and look out at the water. It's really calming, huh?" Clara nodded. "So I wanted to talk to you about something. Basically about me and you. I know that I'm a stranger to you and Jason's a stranger to you and this city is and everything and nothing is the way you want it to be. So I wanted to tell you a little bit about me because even though we're different we actually have a lot in common... When I was just a little older than you are now my mom had my little sister. Her name is Laurine. She's the most important thing to me in the world. So, when Laurine was born, there were some complications and we ended up losing my mom. And my dad, who was in the Navy, he was deployed at the time and everything was crazy and everyone was trying to decide whether it was the best to tell him or not while he was fighting over seas and... we never got to tell him. He never came home."

Julienne stopped after that, exhaling a deep breath then looking back up to the sky towards the setting sun. In that moment the way the sun hit her face all Clara could see was the warmth of her mother in Julienne's features. She put her small hand over hers and Julienne gently pulled her close, allowing Clara to look up towards the setting sun with her, her arms wrapped loosely around the small girl. 

"I wanted to tell you this, not to make you sad, but to let you know that you're not alone in this. I won't try to tell you what you should and shouldn't feel or tell you I know exactly what you're going through because I don't. Everyone is different, but I know what it's like to feel like you've lost everything. I know what it's like to move away from the people you love because of the people you've lost. It's hard. But it's not something you ever have to do alone and that's what I want you to know. That's what me and Jason are here for."

Clara leaned into her chest as tears started to flow again, and Julienne held her as she sniffled softly in her arms and whispered. "Let it out sweetheart, it's okay. I'm right here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was a long one, but I really wanted to get his girlfriend in here since she's gonna be the one watching her when Jason goes out of town with playoffs getting ready to start.


	6. Chapter 6

Ever since she called him out she'd been actively ignoring him. If he spoke to her she wouldn't respond, she was blocking him out and Jason was at a loss for what he could do. 

Stepping into the role of fatherhood hadn't been as easy as he'd hoped it'd be. It seemed like everyday he'd try a little bit harder to be better and everyday it just wouldn't work. He was running out of directions to turn.

He was concerned when all of a sudden Clara sat on the couch beside him. He was in the middle of typing up a text and she just plopped down by his feet though she acted like she didn't even see him there.

"What's up?" He asked. 

No response, she only sank deeper into couch, making herself comfortable before letting out a soft sigh that Jason could hardly made out. He nodded in realization after that. 

Even if she didn't like him she needed to have some degree of human contact every once in a while with a familiar face.

Jason was afraid that meant her search for friends wasn't going very well, though he decided to keep his concerns to himself for now. Until then he was just going to enjoy a rare moment of quality time with his daughter, even if she was pretending he wasn't there.

They spent a little over an hour together just staring at whatever was in the screen in silence before Jason sighed and clicked off the tv. 

"Time the head off to bed kiddo."

She sat, frozen, staring straight ahead. Jason's stomach plummeted and then he quickly sank down to her level, meeting her gaze with a worried expression.

"Clara, what going on? Is everything alright?"

She blinked once and exhaled softly. "Yea."

"Clara."

"I'm gonna go to bed."

He only watched her as she padded off, the fear and uncertainty written across his face as she disappeared into her room, her door carefully shut behind her.

The first time Clara watched one of his games she was with her friends. He was gone, he'd left that morning after dropping her off to head to Minnesota with the team, she knew that was the closest he'd be to her while out of town. 

She wasn't sure how she felt about this. She didn't love him, that was for sure, she'd barely known him an entire month yet, but in the pit of her stomach, sometimes when the nightmares would creep up on her or she'd have a bad day, just knowing he was around had a calming effect on her. She never thought to let it get beyond that.

To say she didn't like him wouldn't be entirely true. She didn't hate him, not to the extent that she had when she first came to Dallas, but she hated what finally meeting him had to come to. She hated the circumstances and the fact that his job meant she'd hardly even see him sometimes. It made her feel alone. 

She watched though, her two closest friends she'd managed to make were huge stars fans and she figured why not. Hockey was pretty big in Canada and though she'd never really watched before aside from the one game she went to the year before, she could tell by the way her friends would always boast it and the way her whole country loved it that it couldn't be all that bad.

They were playing against the Wild that night for game 5, a team with colors Clara seemed to kinda like. Her friends weren't happy with were her loyalties were already drifting so she dropped it. Especially when they started pointing out the cute guys ones on the home team.

Tyler Seguin most importantly.

When the game began she wasn't exactly paying the closest attention, but her friends fixed that by taking her iPad from her. They gave her leg a pat when they saw Jason on the ice, and Clara watched him carefully, intrigued by the thought of seeing someone she knew on TV. It was weird. He looked a lot bigger than he usually did to the credit of his gear. She kept it in the back of her mind to remember what number he wore. She wasn't sure if she really cared or not, but it was interesting to see him in a way that was different from how he was at home.

Her nose instinctively wrinkled when she heard his last name mispronounced, or any French last name for that matter.

She heard her friends sigh as a whistle sounded through the TV. "What?"

"Your dad just took a penalty." Lily groaned.

"So what does that mean?" She watched him skate off with a smirk and step into a small glass room with a bench, Jason shaking his head as he looked up at the monitor. This was just weird.

"That means he has to sit in there for two minutes unless the other team scores and we have one less person on the ice."

Clara furrowed her brows. "That isn't fair."

Dani shrugged her shoulders. "That's hockey baby."

"What's a penalty kill?" She's heard it over and over, they kept mentioning it with Jason's name from the second he stepped into the box.

"It's when the the team with the guy in the penalty box has to try to keep the other team from scoring while they're playing with one less person."

"And Jason's good at that?"

"Yea, he's really good at penalty killing. I think we've had him out there every time." Dani shrugged.

Lily slouched into her seat with a pout when the Blues scored and Clara almost laughed. 

A little more than a minute later the three of them screamed when Jason scored. 

"Ok, he's sorta good."

"They're gonna call that back." Lily's dad was leaning against the doorframe, having come in to check on what the screaming was all about. He gave Clara a scare. 

"Why?"

"It was offside."

"Which meanssss?"

"Someone crossed that blue line before the puck did. That's not allowed."

"Ohhh."

"And catch him a break kiddo. If he made it to the NHL, he's gotta be pretty awesome at what he's doing. It's not easy to make it let alone to stay there as long as he has. Plus, he's defense, they don't score nearly as much as forwards do."

Clara turned her head back to the screen as they got ready to make the announcement on the call and took what he said into consideration. She figured she could like him as a hockey player but not so much as a dad. She wasn't sure if she'd ever really like him as a dad, but as a hockey player he was kinda awesome.

Lily's dad nodded when the goal was disallowed. "Told ya. Hey, and no more screaming guys."

"Sorry dad."

Jason picked her up that night after the game. Lily's dad gave his hand a shake and the two girls were just as excited to see him. They gave Clara a hug goodbye and upon opening the door to the car she pinched her nose.

"Oh c'mon, je me suis douché!"(Oh c'mon. I showered!) Jason gasped.

Clara laughed and shook her head. "Ça sent horrible."(It smells awful)

"Quoi!" (What!)

"Aucun moyen, c'est brut là-dedans!"(No way, it's gross in there!)

Jason laughed along with her, her hands pressed over her mouth as she giggled before finally climbing in. He rolled down the windows and she burst into laughter again. 

Jason was happy to have done something to finally make her smile.

"So Kyle said you guys were watching the game."

Clara shrugged. "Yea. They like hockey a lot and I've never really seen a game before."

He figured he was the reason for that. "Well what did you think?"

"It was good."

"Yea?"

She nodded.

"Ya learn anything?"

She shrugged. 

"I didn't suck too bad out there did I?"

She smiled. "No, you were really good."

His brows raised in shock. He wasn't expecting to hear that. "Oh yea?"

She shrugged. 

That's as far as that conversation was gonna go he guessed, but he was definitely going to take that compliment to heart.

"Are you hungry? Did you already eat?"

"I ate."

"Homework's done?"

"Yea."

"Well then in that case, I think we should get some ice cream."

"I like frozen yogurt."

"Even better. I'm trying to watch my figure."

She rolled her eyes, but Jason could definitely see the smile peaking on her lips.

"We should bring Julie some too."

That made Jason smile. "Good idea, I think she'd like some too."


	7. Chapter 7

The short break between series was when Jason decided was the best time to introduce her to the team. She'd made a pair of close friends and his relationship with her had cooled significantly since their first time meeting. 

She was already up when he got out of bed that morning, she was coloring on her iPad on the balcony watching the sun rise. He'd learned a while back that that was her favorite thing to do.

He was fresh off the series win over the Wild, there was a faint, familiar stiffness in his muscles as he stretched out his arms and leaned up against the door leading outside.

"Hey kiddo, it's good to see you again."

She nodded. Her attitude might've cooled but her reluctance to the situation hadn't. Jason wasn't sure how long it was going to last.

"Did you have fun with Julienne while I was gone?"

She nodded again and with that Jason padded over to take a seat opposite of her. Clara didn't budge.

"You guys do anything cool?"

"We watched movies and stuff?"

"That's good... So I was thinking Clara, you could come down to the rink sometime this week and watch a practice? Finally meet the team?"

She shrugged. "Can Lily and Dani come?"

"Of course they can. Just make sure someone can stay with you guys."

"Can Julie take us?"

Jason was almost shocked by how smoothly this was going. "I'll definitely ask her. So tomorrow then?"

She nodded.

Clara was nervous about the whole thing if she was being totally honest. She was still putting up this front that she wasn't happy being in Texas or staying with him, which was true for the most part, but hockey as a sport had grown on her pretty quickly and the idea of meeting the team that she'd grown to like in such a short period of time had her really nervous.

He left with a kiss to Julie's cheek and gently smoothing back Clara's hair before they split up, the two girls off to pick up Clara's friends that morning and they were all excited as they headed off, Clara included though her anxiety over meeting her dad's whole team droned on in the back of her mind.

She took a deep breath when she stepped out of the car at the American Airlines Center. She'd never actually been in person, but it seemed that she'd be spending the majority of her time at the arena that day and for whatever it was worth she really liked the place. 

The inside left her a little more breathless. The rink was bigger than it seemed when she'd see it on tv. She'd gone skating a few times before, but those times were on homemade rinks or ponds in the backyards of her old friends. They had nothing on this place. Even her bleak memory of the Bell Centre didn't come close to this. Just looking at it she felt exhausted, she couldn't imagine skating around it for as long as a usual game tended to be.

Julienne taking a taller man with a beard in for a hug was what pulled Clara out of her thoughts, he had a kind face, the type that would light up with the smallest smile, it made Clara feel a bit at ease.

"How are you Jules, it's good too see you."

"You too Jordie, it's been awhile since I've seen your dumb face."

Jordie chuckled. 

"Da-Jason said there'd be some kids coming by to see us today, is this them? I mean, I guess if they're with you they must be."

This time Julie laughed, stepping aside so Jordie could better see the three young girls. He got down to their levels so he could shake their hands. 

Clara went first in a rare burst of confidence, sticking her hand out towards him and he took it, smiling down at her in a way that made her feel much more comfortable with being at her dad's workplace. 

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. I'm guessing you're Clara. You know how I can tell?" She shook her head and he smiled wider. "It's those eyes of yours, look just like his. I'm Jordie."

Clara smiled at that, looking down at her feet as her friends stepped up for their turn to meet the Stars defenseman before he stood back up and pointed them off in the direction of the locker room.

"My brother should be hanging out by the door."

"Okay, thanks Jordie!" Clara slipped her hand in Julie's as they headed down, her eyes wandering in every direction in an effort to take in as much new information as possible. Getting a behind the scenes look to your country's favorite sport isn't a thing that happens everyday. 

The man Clara assumed was Jordie's brother was standing by a pair of silver double doors. Julie was pulled into another hug before the man waved down at them.

"This is Jamie guys, the captain of the Dallas Stars."

The little ones softly said their responding "hi" in unison. Jamie laughed.

"Well, uh, it's nice to meet you guys. Jason's told us you were looking forward to meeting us and uh, we're happy to have you guys."

Clara couldn't look away from him.

"Jamie's my favorite," one of her friends said as they whispered amongst themselves.

"I like Tyler. I've met him before, he's really nice." The other said.

Clara put an arm around both of their shoulders and pulled them in close. "I think Jamie's really cute."

They giggled and Julie took Clara's hand in hers with a smile.

"But, uh, yea. I think everyone in there's pretty decent, I just came out about a minute ago or so if you guys wanna head in and, uh, take a quick look around."

"Thank you Jamie."

"No problem you guys, and Clara?" She looked up at him, his big brown eyes smiling down at her. It made her feel shy so she pulled Julie's arm in front of her to hide her face. Jamie chuckled and reached out a fist for her to bump in her direction. "It's nice to meet you kiddo."

Clara nodded.

There weren't too many guy in the locker room when they went in, most had already gone out to the ice like the Benn brothers had when they made it to the arena, but the few that were around took a moment to say hi to the girls on their way out.

Spezza offered high fives and signed their shirts while Rouss agreed to take a picture with the girls before making his way out.

That pretty much just left Jason and Tyler who wandered over a little while after, Jason reached out to gently smooth back her hair and Clara smiled up at him.

"Hey! What do you think."

Clara nodded. "It's kinda cool I guess."

Julie snickered. 

Jason crossed his arms over his chest as Tyler took his turn to say hello to the kids.

Clara took a liking to him almost instantly. He had this cool big brother vibe to him that really eased whatever stray nerves she had left. She liked that he was a goof and decided right then and there that he was her favorite.

Watching the practice was very different from watching a game. The building was quieter and the sound of skates against the ice was sharper. The whistle was crisper, it caused Clara to jump every time she heard the shrill sound. The biggest thing was the atmosphere. There was a lightness to the practice that made it that much more fun to watch. 

In a flash the practice had come and gone. She got more photos as guys filed out after practice, some before showering, some after. She let out a sigh of relief when she realized she wouldn't have to ride home in her dad's sweaty car.

Instead she peered out the window of Julie's car and smiled, feeling of happiness taking over her for the first time in what felt like years. 

She felt happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long to get this one out (and sorry if it's not that great


	8. Chapter 8

The series ending with the Stars elimination left Clara feeling pretty sad, but on the other hand she knew from Julie that with it came their returning to Canada to spend the summer. 

It took a few weeks, between waiting for school to get out and all of that, but before she knew it she was back in Laval and with the most bittersweet of emotions.

The last time she was there her mom had just passed and she was living with her best friend's family. As she stepped out of the airport with Jason and Julie she came to an abrupt halt as the memory hit her like a brick wall. 

"Hey," Jason cooed as he stooped down to her level. Her lower lip was quivering and her eyes were threatening the chance of tears spilling, so he took her hand gently, the first time he felt that he could try without worrying that she might lash out at him, and gently gave it a squeeze. "It's okay. I know it's a lot of memories you're feeling. That's okay kiddo."

She sniffled and wiped at her eyes before reaching out for Julie's hand as well and taking another step forward.

They let her pick the music as they drove and Jason would check back on her periodically as he drove on.

He was nervous if he was being completely honest and Julie placed a comforting hand on his knee when she sensed it. 

She would be meeting his family for the first time. The granddaughter and niece they never had the chance to meet, the thought was frightening to him, but he knew that no matter what everything would be fine in the end.

It was late when they got to his parents' house. Clara towed her suitcase behind her sleepily as she followed the older two up the path to the front door. Her grandparents were impatiently waiting on the other side, eager to meet their grand daughter. 

She took the hugs that came shyly, yawning as she hid behind Jason and Julie as they talked.

"It's very nice to finally meet you sweetheart." Jason's dad said.

Clara nodded slowly and twirled on her toes to shuffle behind Julie.

"She's so beautiful Jason." She zoned out as his mother spoke, leaning her head against Julie's shoulder as she rubbed small circles into her back. Jason looked down at her with soft eyes and a small smile on his cheeks as they continued to talk for a moment. "Honey, why don't you show her to your room, we got it all set up for her and she looks about ready to fall over and sleep."

He chuckled and gently smoothed her hair back. "You hungry at all?" Clara shook her head. "You ready to head to bed then?" She nodded this time and Jason carefully reached for her suitcase before leading her up to his childhood bedroom.

It was surreal to have her there considering it'd been a while since he last set foot in the place himself. His walls were still the same blue color and most of his old hockey posters still hung on the wall.

Clara looked around curiously despite her grogginess. She was intrigued. In a way it was kind of cool to see the room her father had lived in when was growing up. When he was her age. 

There were old pictures of him with friends when he was around her age that she let her fingers run over, old sticks some hockey trophies and medals. She noticed his reflection looking in at her through the mirror and gave him a small smile. 

"This was your old room?"

Jason nodded and crossed his arm over his chest as she took another moment to look around. 

"I'm gonna let you get some rest. I'll see in the morning Clara."

"Night."

She started getting ready for bed after that, slipping off the jeans and tshirt she'd worn all day and trading them out for a pair of sweats and one of her mom's old shirts. After throwing her hair up and brushing her teeth she decided to take a closer look at some of the pictures in the frames. 

She leaned up against his dresser, making herself eye level with the photos and quietly humming a Brett Young song to herself.

Madi would think it was hilarious how quickly Texas had managed to get her to be the kind to listen to Country music.

They were reunited a couple days later. It was a surprise orchestrated by Julie and Madi's mom. 

The two squealed when they saw each other at the Parc National d'Oka beach. The grown up chuckled as they ran into each other's arms and gave the other a squeeze. The three months they'd spent apart was more than they could bear.

"Do you like it there?"

Clara shrugged. They were waiting in line to order themselves some ice cream what Madi asked the question. 

"It's not the worst, but Dorval is my home."

"Yea. I know."

Clara crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head as she felt her eyes welling up with tears. "I'd give anything to have my mom back and everything go back to normal."

"I know." Madi gave her another hug, looked her in the eyes, wiped her eye and smiled at her. "But everything's gonna be ok. I mean, how bad could things possibly be when you have ice cream?"

Madi wiggled brows at her best friend after that and it only took a second before Clara broke a smile. "Not too bad I guess."

"Exactly. So let's go have a not too bad time together."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I'm starting to crank these out pretty slow now. Between school and work I'm getting writers block like crazy and the free time to write is pretty sparse.
> 
> In any case, I hope this didn't suck too bad haha. Let me know what you think! Any feedback is helpful!


	9. Chapter 9

At this point Clara was starting to feel pretty comfortable around Jason and Julie. She would join them on the couch to watch movies or have short conversations before bed. Every so often she'd have a day or two where the memory of her mom's death would weigh down on her, especially when they'd pass by places where'd they'd shared the most memories.

In any case, she'd wake up every morning feeling a little bit better than she did the last, not batting an eye when Jason'd left near the end of June for something hockey related. A part of her missed him for the couple of days he was gone, but she'd spent that time with Madi so it didn't effect her too much.

They headed back to Dallas when he returned and the morning after Clara yawned as she padded out towards the kitchen in search of something to snack on to start her day.

She liked being up early during the summer, she had memories of pulling all-nighters with Madi, giggling softly and watching old princess movies or dancing until they slipped out the back door to the porch with blankets to watch the sunrise. She loved the look the golden glow the rising sun would cast on everything and how it could change the atmosphere of a room. Everything looked warmer and homier when the sun was rising. 

When she got up again a few hours later she was waved over by Jason while Juliette pulled her into her side on the couch.

On Jason's laptop she could see them scrolling through different housing listings, some starred, most weren't. It made her curious and a little excited.

"So we're looking for a bigger place to move into, you wanna help us pick out a few you like? One with a nice big room for you maybe?"

Clara smiled and nodded. 

They spent a few moments in silence as they looked at the different listings as the small family they were huddled together around one screen. Every so often one of them would speak up to give their opinion on a house or voice their dislike before they continued on to the next one.

Before long Jason sent Julie a careful look as they nodded to each other and he opened his mouth to speak. 

"Clara, we have something we need to tell you."

"Ok, what's up?"

"So you know that I play hockey.." Clara hummed and Jason went on. "and so when I play for a team I sign a contract with them."

"So," Julie picked up from there, tucking a couple strands of hair behind Clara's ear, "there are a few things that can happen when the contract runs out. He can either stay, they can send him somewhere else, or he can decide to move on to another team."

"...Okay."

"My contract with the Stars just expired and after talking to the Stars about what we want to do, we've decided to part ways."

"And now, this morning your dad was talking to a team and they've decided to sign him on."

Clara's face dropped significantly when she caught on to where this was going.

Jason honestly felt a little guilty about what this would do to her, but there wasn't much of a choice. He and Dallas were going to part ways regardless since his contract had expired. Clara's being there wasn't going to change anything.

"...Where is the team?"

Jason leaned forward, setting the palm of his hand on her knee and looking into her big green eyes. "The team is near Miami. In Florida. So we're going to be moving to a new house, but also to a new state. I know it doesn't sound too great right now, but I promise you're going to love it down there."

Clara froze, here eyes welling up with tears and her gazed shifted to the window, studying for a moment the scenery of Dallas from a distance outside their window. She got up without a word and walked slowly out of the room and down the hall back to her room, Jason and Julie watching on from the couch in silence.

Jason closed his laptop and sunk into the couch with a sigh, shutting his eyes and squeezing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. He could tell that they'd just taken a hundred steps backwards.

"Shit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently creativity strikes me when I'm in the middle of an 8hr graveyard shift. 
> 
> This one's short. I hope you enjoyed!


	10. Chapter 10

Clara sat emotionlessly as people moved around her. Men were moving boxes out as she slowly sipped on the smoothie Jason bought her that morning. She didn't want anything to do with this. She never wanted any of this.

Jason and Julie decided it'd be best to leave her be for the time being. She'd gotten her room together like they'd asked, so in return they let her sulk in the corner. It seemed like a fair trade off. The apartment wasn't all that big to begin with so they didn't necessarily need her to lend a hand with anything. Jason wondered if it was the right move for the situation.

As the place started to empty out, Clara took to the balcony with her tablet. She looked through pictures she and Madi and her other old friends took together during their short vacation up in Dorval, pictures with Jason's family. 

She spent most of her time away from the older two of the house that day. Focusing her attention to YouTube or Netflix and allowing the clock to tick by as the her final hours in Dallas grew near. 

They woke up early the next morning to start the drive down. Clara rubbed her palms against her sleepy eyes as she reluctantly climbed into Jason's SUV and the three headed off towards Florida leaving Dallas, the Stars, and Clara's new friends behind with it.

By no means was it a short drive. The trip took a total of over 18 hours altogether that the older two split equally into shifts, stopping every few hours for bathroom breaks and food though they were determined to make it down in one shot.

She slept for most of the way, Jason looked back at her fondly through the rearview every now and again, remembering times when he would take Emilienne on long drives with his family and she'd end up passing out on his shoulder after only a few minutes. She looked so much like her in that moment that it made his heart ache, almost yearning for times not so distant in the past when times were simpler.

Then he'd look to the woman on his right, whipping her hair around and singing along to whatever song popped on the radio and he'd smile, looking between his two girls and the road and though everything was different and difficult since Clara'd come into his life he still couldn't help but feel like he was the luckiest man on earth.

It was just past ten when they finally made it to Pompano Beach, Florida where their new home was waiting for them. 

Julie gently shook Clara awake and she groaned as she stretched her arms out and looked around. 

"We made it sweetie, we're gonna get ready to head in a minute but 

She shook her head once she was buckled into the back passenger seat of his car and turned her head towards the window.

"Are you sure? I could swing by some place real quick."

"I just wanna go home."

He gave her a sad look through the rear mirror, but nodded his head as he climbed out of the car, helping the girls with their things and leading the way to their new home. She followed them up the drive where Jason slipped the key into their new home for the first time.

It was dark inside, but as they flipped on the lights Clara felt her doubts fade slightly as she looked around. It was the house she liked the most of the ones they'd looked through. With a pool in the back and a room with bright blue walls that she was hopeful to call her own. It felt homey. The more she looked around the more at ease she felt.

"What do you think Clara?" Jason asked. She only shrugged in response.

He'd be the first one to tell her he knew it wasn't the most exciting thing in the world. A brand new house with nothing in it but their bodies and a few suitcases. 

She let her backpack slip off her shoulder and wandered off until she found her room. Through her window she could see the lights glistening across the water of the canal that ran behind the house, but it wasn't enough to make any part of the situation any better. The twinkling city lights and soothing traffic sounds she could hear from her bedroom weren't going to bring her mother back to life. They weren't going to change anything.

Jason knocked on her door from where he was leaning against the door frame but she didn't turn. "Hey, I ordered some pizza if you're hungry. I'm getting ready to head out to grab it and few things so we can sleep tonight if you'd like to come with me."

"I'm not hungry."

Jason sighed and walked towards her. He stopped when he was close enough and sat by her trying to get her to look at him, she did reluctantly. "I know this sucks and you don't want to be here, I get it. All of this sucks and the last thing you want is to be stuck here with me, but this is where we are and what's going on and you're not making it any better on yourself by not eating."

She stayed still, focusing her eyes on the floor and when she didn't respond Jason ran his fingers through his hair with a sigh and got up to get out. "You don't have to eat with me if you don't want, I know you're upset with me right now, but I bet Julie would love your company while I'm out, eh? Maybe you could sit tight with her, take a little look around?"

Clara nodded and Jason smoothed her hair back on his way out, shutting her door quietly behind him.

For a split second she considered going along with him, but decided against it. She was still too upset about leaving Dallas after finally making a home out of it.

When he return she took a slice before heading off to bed, Julie insisting that the three of them spend the first night together in their new home as a family.

Clara was uncertain but Julie pressed on and before long she'd given in and found herself drifting off to Julie's fingertips softly drawing circles into her back. Her eyes fluttered to the familiar feeling, it left her feeling warm and safe.

For a moment she felt as if her mother was by her side calming her out of her bad mood and within minutes she was fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry these are starting to take so long to put out. Chemistry is an absolute bitch, but I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you think ❤


	11. Chapter 11

Two weeks had passed since the move to Florida and with the preseason starting in a matter of days Jason was finding himself getting more and more stressed and Clara wasn't any help.

Her attitude hadn't quite worn off like he'd hoped it would though she made friends much quicker this time around and Jason was thankful for that.

What it came down to though was one night about two weeks before preseason where Clara had finally pushed him over the edge.

"Mom would never do this." She muttered. Jason sighed, he had had enough.

"Clara, go to your room. Now. You don't get to compare me to your mother."

She brought herself to her feet slamming her hands down on the table with as much force as he small frame could muster. "You'll never be as good a dad as she was. Ever. I wish none of this had ever happened and I never had to be stuck with you."

Jason pushed away from his seat and brought himself to his feet towering over his daughter from the opposite side of the table. "Ok fine, now you're grounded. No tv, no hanging out with friends and no iPad for a week. I hope you're proud of yourself."

Clara's face dropped visibly, as if she hadn't expected him to react like this. Her eyes welled up with tears as she shoved her chair back and hurried off to her room, her tears becoming audible as soon as she was out of eye shot of him. 

"I hate you." She said, slamming her door behind her.

Jason felt hurt. It was like he was dealing with a double ended sword but he just couldn't find a way to grab on to the handle. On one hand he'd been afraid of being too hard on her. She was still grieving, she'd suffered a loss he couldn't imagine having to face, yet on the other hand he couldn't allow her to walk all over him or be rude just because she was unhappy right now. He couldn't just tolerate that, but at the same time hearing her say she hated him felt like having that sword shoved right through his chest. Whether she really meant it or not.

He spent an extra 30 minutes sitting at the table, crumbling under the weight of the guilt that never seemed to leave him. Guilt about not being there, about Emily's death, about Clara's world spinning on its head the way it was, and now about grounding her. 

He pressed his eyes shut as he thought to himself, his head pounding with every breath he took.

For a brief moment he considered letting her off the hook, talking her down and telling her she couldn't act like that, but he reminded himself to stay firm and instead headed for her room with a light knock on the door.

He didn't expect her to answer and she didn't disappoint. So he knocked again before letting himself in and leaning against the wall.

Clara sniffled, curled up on her bed with her blanket pulled up and wrapped tightly around her.

Jason sighed. "I need the iPad kiddo."

Of course he felt awful, he was out of his element here, but he took another quiet breath and waited as Clara slowly got up, collected her iPad from on top of her dresser and handed it over.

"And while I'm here I think you owe me an apology for what you said. It isn't fair for you to compare me to your mom every time you get upset at me. I know I'm not her, I'm more than aware of that, but I'm doing my best to be as good of a dad as possible to you, ya know? It's not easy, but I'm really trying here because for me I know it wouldn't be fair to you if I didn't. I'm doing my best."

She nodded and wiped another tear from her eye, her gazed focused down on her neon green colored toes. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted. Now go ahead and get to bed, we'll talk about this more in the morning."

She nodded again and Jason gently reached out to ruffle her hair as she turned before he pulled her door closed and he padded off to his own room. 

She was quiet the next morning when she got up to start her day. Jason watched her carefully as he unlaced his shoes from his run and she fixed herself a bowl of cereal. If he hadn't looked up he would've never noticed she was there.

"Morning." He tried. 

No answer. 

In his mind he shrugged it off. She was upset, he couldn't remember a time where he was ever not upset after getting grounded himself. It didn't mean she couldn't hear him.

"Do you need a ride to the bus stop when I head out for skate today or are you gonna walk it?"

Still no answer. 

He headed in for his shower and when he was finished she was waiting, her backpack in her hands and her eyes looking towards the window to the front yard. He threw his own bag over his shoulder and grabbed his keys and as he headed out the door she followed, pretending as if he wasn't even there.

Jason wasn't completely sure how that worked.

He was sort of amused by it. For what seemed like the first time he actually felt like he was the parent of a preteen girl.

At the end of the week he woke up around 5 and padded out into the kitchen when after he'd spent the better part of 3 hours laying awake in his bed without any hope of falling back sleep.

Julienne had left at the beginning of the week to have a short visit with her family in Tennessee and Jason rationalized that his without her by his side his mind would run wild with his anxieties about raising Clara. 

He sighed into his cup of coffee and he turned his head to look out the window towards the still dark sky.

Then he poured his coffee down the drain and headed out for Clara's room. He was careful not to make too much noise when he walked in in case he scared her up by accident. He shook her gently and she slowly rubbed her eyes as she rolled over to look up at him groggily. 

"Grab your shoes, I want to show you something real quick." He said softly. 

Clara yawned and did as she was told, slipping on a pair of old slippers and following Jason out to his car. He gave her the iPad back as soon as she was buckled in and though she bit back the smile he could see her face light up and he felt much better about sticking with her punishment for the whole week. 

"What do you say?" 

"Thank you." 

"And what did you learn?"

She paused for a moment then looked up at him with big blue eyes that made Jason feel like his heart was melting away. 

"It wasn't nice to compare you to mom."

"That it?"

"And that I need to be better because you're doing your best."

"That sounds good to me. All is forgiven?" She nodded slowly. "Good deal. So I'm sure you're aware that it's like 5:30ish, and we're sitting in my car. Let me ask you, have you seen the sunrise before?"

To that Clara let her lips curl up in the corners as she nodded her head, her iPad laying securely in her lap as she waited for him to go on. 

"How about on the beach, have you seen one on the beach?" She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No? How about we go change that then, eh?" 

She watched with wide eyes as they drove towards the water, the sky painted a pale shade of blue as the sun was getting set to come up over the horizon. 

She followed him as he lead her out into the sand leading out to the sea, the salty air gently brushed her cheeks as she mellowed out to the crashing of the waves.

She looked up at him as he continued on the long stretch of sand before settling on a smooth patch where the tide had come up to overnight. 

Clara sat with her knees pulled to her chest and a twinkle in her eyes as the reddish-orange sun peaked over the horizon. 

"I've always liked mornings a lot more than nights. Everything it's quieter... calmer."

"I like mornings too because the sky looks really pretty and the air is cooler." 

Jason smirked down at her before looking back out at the rolling waves. 

"Yea, the breeze is really nice." They sat together in silence for a while after that, Clara would look up at Jason every once in a while to see a soft smile on his cheeks and a calm come over her. 

After a couple minutes of this Jason spoke up again. "Ya know, you're not a bad kid Clara. I know you're not. I don't want you to think that I think you're a bad kid or that I don't like having you around. You're great, I just wish I knew how to make you happy."

Clara sighed to herself and hugged her legs closer to her chest.

She wished she knew too.


	12. Chapter 12

After a few weeks Jason had gotten into the routine of taking Clara out to the beach in the mornings followed by grabbing breakfast from wherever she chose. 

It was a way for him to get the chance to spend lost time with her, even though she wasn't all to big on talking to him.

December and January had come and gone and in that time a lot of progress had been made between Clara's occasional outbursts of anger or periods of silence towards Jason and Julie, but he was eager to have more things to talk about with her.

To this point, most times when he took her out on what in his head he considered a daddy-daughter date, they'd spend most of the time in silence. They'd watch the waves together and giggle over whipped cream on each other's faces, growing more and more comfortable with the other's presence, and though Jason was grateful that it was moving along the way it had been, he was hoping for more communication.

It was mid February when they went out again, Clara had gotten into the habit of bringing a blanket to cuddle around her in the colder months. She'd always drift back off to sleep in the short few minutes it would take to get to the beach and Jason would just smile down at her. 

His little girl, though she wasn't so little anymore.

He thought about that a lot, the fact that he'd missed out on so much of her life. He sighed as put the car into park near their usual spot and looked out at the ocean ahead of them. 

That was kinda his plan this time around, to give her the chance tell him about herself or let ask whatever questions she wanted. About him... or her mom.

He wanted for that to be an option because he knew how Emilienne's family was. How disappointed they were when she got pregnant and how they shut her out. Jason figured there wasn't much she knew about her mom outside of what she saw. 

There's always more to a person than what you see.

As they usually did Clara followed her father out onto the vacant stretch of beach leading towards the Atlantic, the sound of the waves lulling her to sleep with every step she took.

Jason's mind was going a million miles an hour, mostly wondering if she would cooperate. He'd tried this once before and she hadn't, but he knew things were much different at the time.

He gave it a moment before speaking up, giving her a chance to take a deep breath of the fresh ocean air or wrap her blanket securely over her shoulders as she looked out ahead of her. For a split seconded he imagined a younger version of her looking out the same way with wide eyes before he snapped himself out of it. He pressed his eyes together and ran his fingers through his hair, letting his hand rest against the back of his neck as he opened his mouth to speak.

"So I wanted to do something a little different here this time."

"Like what?"

Jason let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, uh... I figured, we could talk about things. Like if you had any questions about anything... Like me?"

Clara chewed on her lip and shrugged, her bright blue eyes turning down to the sand beneath her as she leaned forward to rest her chin on the tops of her knees.

Jason went on. "I feel like there's a lot you're in the dark about between what I was like when I was younger or things about me or your mom that you might not know... I wanted to let you have the chance to ask if you want."

He noticed it caught her ear when he mentioned Emilienne, and he expected it to. She looked up at him, turning her head so her cheek was against her knees. 

"Did you like living in Dorval?"

Jason smirked. He was hoping with everything he had that they wouldn't go on staying in the dark.

"Of course. I grew up there. It's my home ya know? I've always tried to take any chance I had to head back up there and see my family and friends. It's a great town."

"Yea... I love Dorval."

"There's a lot to love."

"I liked going to the park by the river."

He smiled a bit wider. "Oh yea, I used to head there all the time with your mom."

It was silent for a moment after that. Clara drew small circles in the sand between the two of them and Jason waited patiently. Or at least as patiently as he could. He wasn't sure if he'd hit a nerve or said something that might've triggered her sadness. But she spoke again before he could dwell too long.

"What was she like... when she was younger."

He sighed, rubbing his arm as he looked out ahead at the lightening sky. There were so many memories that were made with her that he held dear to his heart. Memories he hadn't been able to bring himself to look back on since she left, and more so when she'd died. "She was funny. She had a fire to her. The kind of person that always had a snarky comeback to anything someone said to her. And she was smart." Jason snickered. "Much smarter than I was."

"How did you meet her?"

"At school.." He nodded at the memory of seeing her around the halls of their school. Her vibrant brown eyes. "We had a few classes together throughout the years. And I was on the school hockey team and she said hi to me one day after a game, but I already knew who she was."

Clara smiled at that. "You had a crush on her?"

Jason scoffed and she chuckled in response. "Huge crush. Always did. She was beautiful... Yeah... she sure was."

"Did you tell her first?"

"That night when she said hi I asked her if she wanted to go grab a hot drink because it was so cold ya know, it was the middle of winter. And she said no cause she was too shy. That's how I knew she really liked me. She was the kinda person that liked to intimidate people. It was like nothing could scare her... except maybe talking to me."

"Then how...?"

"Her friends convinced her to say yes and she found me before class the next day and told me she wanted to go out with me and we went out that night."

"What did she like about you?"

He gave her a playful shove and she bursted out into a fit of giggles, hiding her face in her blanket clad hands, looking so similar to her mother it almost took Jason's breath away.

"What's that supposed to mean, huh?"

"What were you like?"

"I dunno, I guess the same as I am now. Less responsible for sure though. I'm the baby of my family and I milked that the best I could. But for the most part, yea I'd say I was pretty much the same." With that Jason gave her arm a gentle pinch and nodded his head in her direction. "How bout I get a turn to ask some questions now?"

Clara smiled. "Okay."

"What's your favorite food?"

"Pizza!"

"Animal?"

"Giraffe."

"What about your favorite movie?"

"Lilo and Stitch."

"Do you like Disney?" Clara hummed and Jason nodded. "I think Aladdin might be my favorite."

"I really like Tangled too."

"Oh yea?"

She nodded. "Me and mom used to watch it a lot together... Hey Jason?"

"What's up?"

"What did you like the most about my mom?"

"I mean, what wasn't there to like? She was feisty, she was this strong beautiful person. My favorite thing though is that she's a lot like you, or rather you're a lot like her."

"Really?"

"Oh yea. Definitely. Like twins. Attitude, everything."

"She used to say I was like you. Especially my eyes."

Jason scoffed again. He could imagine her saying that, and sometimes he could see it. She was stubborn and at times she was silly. Everyday she'd let a new wall down and he'd find more things they had in common. 

"Yea, but ya know what? I wish you had eyes like hers instead of mine. Hers were so much better." Clara smiled softly, her lips melting into a grin. "You got anything else you wanna know?"

"Why does every one call you Daddy?"

Jason nearly choked on the laughter that was threatening to come out as he pushed himself to his feet and reached for her hand to help her up. "Lets go grab some breakfast, eh?"

"Okay." She slipped her hand into his as they walked and Jason almost jumped at the feeling. She was smiling up at him when he looked down. "Thanks for telling me all that...Daddy."

All he could do was smile back and shake his head. 

"Anytime kiddo."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's taken so long to post! I've been working a lot of hours lately and if I'm not at work I've been trying to catch up with Chem. 
> 
> In any case I hope you like this chapter, I think this one's pretty long.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm awful. I know it's been forever, at least like 2 months since I last updated, but to be fair I was taking chemistry and that class nearly kicked my ass. As a result I was left with writers block for a little bit.
> 
> That said I hope you enjoy the chapter!

"Is there any hockey on?" 

Jason and Julie jumped a little at the sound of Clara's voice.

"It's a Friday night, I feel like there's a pretty good chance of it."

They watched her carefully as she walked around the couch and plopped down into the space between them, pulling her feet underneath her as she quickly made herself comfortable.

"Can you explain the game to me? My friend started to but there's a lot I don't get still."

He nodded to her with a smile though he couldn't help but feel like they'd been here before. Her anger and reluctance followed by her willing to join them as a family. It was familiar, but at the same time he could tell that there was a difference with her. Ever since their last morning at the beach.

"Yea absolutely. Tell me where to start."

Julie just smiled as she went back to reading her book. 

They watched the game together carefully, Jason explaining the rules as they played out or the calls as they happened and going into more detail if Clara made a confused face.

By the third period of the Flyers-Leafs game Jason had Clara tell him what penalties she might think should be called or reminding him of what an offside means. 

"Whatta ya think?" Jason asked, giving her leg a little tap as she stretched her arms out in front of her with a smile. 

"It's not so hard."

"Ya, what's your favorite part?"

She shrugged and pushed herself up to her feet and padded off to her room. "Thanks for explaining."

"Any time kiddo."

Jason half expected her to be back to her former ways, ignoring their existence or mouthing off out of anger, but she didn't. She was still quiet, but he was starting believe that's just how she was as a person. 

"Wanna go with Julie to my game tonight?" He asked her as she sipped on a cup of apple juice by the fridge.

"Yea, you can tell me all about what you know about hockey while we're there." Julie added. 

Clara smiled at that and gently pulled on her hair, Jason noticed that she would do that when she was feeling shy or unsure. "Yea, that'd be cool."

"You wanna bring a friend with you or anything?"

She shook her head at that.

"No I'll just go with Julie."

"Ok, hey, I also have another thing to let you know before you head off for the bus. I've been thinking about if maybe you'd like to come down to practice tomorrow, maybe go for a little skate with me afterwards?."

For a moment Jason was sure she was going to say no, her face twisted with uncertainty as she looked down at her shoes, but when she looked up she seemed willing.

"That sounds like it'll be lots of fun."

"Alright, get out of here and have a good day at school." Clara chuckled and waved back at them as she headed out the door for the day.

When she got home from school that weekend she was excited. She let Julie help her plan her outfit for her little skate with Jason and was nothing but smiles when she woke the morning of. 

She hummed to herself as she reached for her cereal and all Jason could do was give her a weird look as she went about being pleasant. 

"We're gonna start getting ready to go soon, are you excited?"

Clara nodded. "Yea, I think it's gonna be fun, I haven't skated in a long time."

"You know how to skate?"

She shrugged and grinned shyly down at her bowl. "Yea, but not as good as you."

Jason chuckled, getting up from his seat at the table and scratching the top of his head as he padded off to his room. "I'm gonna start getting ready to go right now because I have to head out early, but I'm gonna meet you and Julie there.

Clara nodded and Jason went on his way.

She was about as nervous as she was excited as she got in the car a little while later and Julie drove them down to the practice rink.

Practice was already in full swing when she walked in. There was that familiar smell of the ice rink and the sound whistles blowing loudly every so often. All of a sudden she felt nervous. Almost like the first time she went to meet the Stars. Julie gently rubbed her shoulder as as they kept walking, though the shyness never subsided. 

She went up by the glass for awhile. Propping her arms up against the boards and getting a good look at what was going on on the ice. She watched the bodies fly back and forth on the ice running different drills and her lips curved into a shy smile when Jason skated by, knocking on the glass as he passed. 

Every now and again his teammates joined in on the teasing and Clara would giggle, hiding her face behind her hands. 

When practice was over, Ekblad waved her over and he started the line of guys giving her fist bumps or head pats on their way off the ice until only Jason was left. 

If she was being completely honest she was pretty nervous. She hadn't gone skating in what felt like years though in reality it'd only been a few months. She'd brought her skates with her, they were white with glitter all over them and Clara briefly remembered the time her mother and Madi decorated their skates together when the dead of winter hit and left them with nothing else to do.

Jason took her hand to help her step onto the ice, she'd laced up her skates with Julie's help as practice came close to an end. She slipped a little, but Jason was quick to help her regain her balance before she could fall. 

"There ya go. First step in a bit, eh?"

Clara smiled and nodded her head shyly. When he was sure she could stand on her own he carefully let go of her hands and glided back a bit.

"Let's see what you got."

"Do you want me to skate to you?

"Yea, let's try that for a start."

"Okay. Just promise you won't let me fall."

He stilled for a moment, his figure frozen as he continued backward by the momentum of the ice. 

"What did you say?"

"Promise you won't let me fall."

His skates dug into the ice as he tried to bring himself to a stop and he stumbled before falling flat and letting out a sigh. 

_"Please don't let me fall for you."_

_Jason smirked and gave his head a small shake, taking Emmiliene's small hand into his own._

_"I can't make you any promises about that."_

_She smiled back at him, brushing a frayed strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear._

_"Well then in that case, you'd better be ready to catch me."_

_"Always."_

Jason shook his head and he brought himself up to a seated position on the ice, a scoff coming out of his mouth as he looked up at the little girl who'd definitely changed his life for the better.

There was worry in her eyes, his eyes. The eyes her mother looked into pausing over memories not quite as distant and they once were. 

"Are you ok?"

Jason smiled, pulling her down with him as she erupted into a fit of giggles in his arms. 

Julie let out a sigh of relief, she'd jumped to her feet and the sight of Jason stumbling back. She watched them instead, leaning against the boards as they laughed together, all she could do was smile.

"Listen Clara, as long as you're with me, I promise I'll never let anything happen to you."

Clara smiled, brushing her hair out of her face as she brought herself up to her feet and waiting for Jason to do the same.

"Can I try doing what you do? Can you teach me to shoot a puck?"

Jason smirked and laid a soft hand on her shoulder. "I'd be thrilled to."


End file.
